Ephesians 5:1-17 KJV
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And
walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or
covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither
filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but
rather giving of thanks. 5 For this ye
know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an
idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for
because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of
disobedience. 7 Be not ye therefore
partakers with them. 8 For ye were
sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of
light: 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is
in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable
unto the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of those
things which are done of them in secret.
13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for
whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the
dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the
Lord is.
Walk in wisdom toward them that are without,
redeeming the time. Colossians 4:5 KJV
THE TIME
CONUNDRUM OR ENIGMA
From
his birth man is given an allotted quota of time. So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Psalms 90:12 KJV
365
x 24 x 60 x 60 is the amount of seconds we have in a year.
In
2013 each person starts with the identical amount of time. None is given more
or less!
1
year
365
days
8,760
hours
525,600
minutes
31,536,
000 seconds
For
those who work an 8 hour day for 5 days per week that is 2080 hours per year
(87 days)
If
you sleep approx 6 hours per day that is 2190 hours per year (91 days)
For
those who commute approximately 1 and a half hours per day it's about 547 hours
(23 days)
Meals
an hour per day makes it 365 hours per year (15 days)
Shopping
at 2 hours per week makes it 104 hours per year (4 days)
Movie
time per week at 4 hours makes it 208 hours per year (7 days)
Private
time for personal hygiene at 1 hour daily is 365 hours per year (15 days)
Making
it to one church service per week lasting approximately 2 hours gives 104 hours
per year (4 days)
That’s
246 days leaving 119 days at a VERY conservative
estimate. (Charts)
How
much of that will be idle time and how much will be useful? How will the time
we are given be used in this year?
CHRONOLOGICAL
TIME VS OPPORTUNE TIME
Two
major Greek words are used for time in the New Testament kairos and chromos.
According
to the Word Study Dictionary we have these meanings:
chrónos; gen.
chrónou, masc. noun. Time. This word perceives time quantitatively as a period
measured by the succession of objects and events and denotes the passing of
moments. Another word, kairós (G2540), season, the time of accomplishment,
considers time qualitatively as a period characterized by the influence or
prevalence of something. Chrónos is a period of measured time, not a period of
accomplishment as kairós. Chrónos embraces all possible kairoí (pl.), and is
often used as the larger and more inclusive term, but not the converse. In the
NT: (Word Study Dictionary)
kairós; gen.
kairoú, masc. noun. Season, opportune time. It is not merely as a succession of
minutes, which is chrónos (G5550), but a period of opportunity (though not
necessity). There is really no Eng. equivalent to the word kairós, appropriate
or opportune time, which when used in the pl. with chrónoi (times), is
translated as "seasons," times at which certain foreordained events
take place. (Word Study Dictionary)
Lysippus a 4th
century BC Greek sculptor made a statue of Kairos called Opportunity, on which
the following Aesop's fable is based
Running swiftly,
balancing on the razor's edge, bald but with a lock of hair on his forehead, he
wears no clothes; if you grasp him from the front, you might be able to hold
him, but once he has moved on not even Jupiter himself can pull him back: this
is a symbol of Opportunity, the brief moment in which things are possible.
The following
epigram by Poseidippos was carved on the statue:
"Who and
whence was the sculptor? From Sikyon.
And his name?
Lysippus.
And who are you?
Time who subdues all things.
Why do you stand
on tip-toe? I am ever running.
And why you have
a pair of wings on your feet? I fly with the wind.
And why do you
hold a razor in your right hand? As a sign to men that I am sharper than any
sharp edge.
And why does
your hair hang over your face? For him who meets me to take me by the forelock.
And why, in
Heaven's name, is the back of your head bald? Because none whom I have once
raced by on my winged feet will now, though he wishes it sore, take hold of me
from behind.
Why did the
artist fashion you? For your sake, stranger, and he set me up in the porch as a
lesson."
Kairos is an
ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment (the supreme moment).
The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. While the former
refers to chronological or sequential time, the latter signifies a time
between, a moment of indeterminate time in which something special happens.
What the special something is depends on who is using the word. While chronos
is quantitative, kairos has a qualitative nature. (Wikipedia)
What
we see distinguished here is the difference between time as a quantity and time
as a quality! Every day we are all given an identical quantity of time but then
have the responsibility of turning this quantity into quality time! Therein
lies the difference for it’s the quality that counts!
We
are in the habit of seeing time as a quantity of which we either have too much
or too little! It’s just an illusion for it ever remains the same! It’s what we
do in it that counts!
We
are to take advantage of the opportune seasons and times as they present
themselves! We will never regret this but we will spend a lifetime regretting
we never made use of the opportunities.
A farm boy
accidentally overturned his wagonload of corn in the road. The farmer who lived
nearby came to investigate. “Hey, Willis,” he called out, “Forget your troubles
for a spell and come on in and have dinner with us. Then I’ll help you get the
wagon up.”
“That’s mighty
nice of you,” Willis answered, “But I don’t think Pa would like me to.”
“Aw, come on,
son!” the farmer insisted.
“Well, okay,”
the boy finally agreed. “But Pa won’t like it.” After a hearty dinner, Willis
thanked his host. “I feel a lot better now, but I just know Pa is going to be
real upset.”
“Don’t be
foolish!” exclaimed the neighbor. “By the way, where is your Pa?”
“He’s under the
wagon.”
You can bet Pa
will be real upset because Willis did not seize the time!
WHILE IT IS
DAY...
We
need to seize the moment!
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind
from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this
man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this
man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest
in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night
cometh, when no man can work. John 9:1-4 KJV
In
our text the word redeem is derived from the Greek exagorázo: redeem, buy off, deliver by paying the price
It
is obvious we cannot buy back time after it is gone so what does it mean?
The
word is said to come for a root meaning marketplace or more properly a slave
market where lives will be lost to slavery. In using the term it is recognized
that we need to rescue from irrecoverable loss the time that we are allotted in
this life. We are to seize the opportunities as they come for once gone they’re
gone forever.
The
days are evil...evil will try its utmost to seize your time. Your time becomes
a slave to the forces of evil and is in enemy territory. Evil's subtle sly
seductive suggestions steal your allotted time and the seconds drift away
without you realizing it. The time of each day is not recoverable, saved or
reserved. It is an unrelenting one way street with no turning back! Seize it
now! Redeem it!
Jesus’
advent was the ultimate opportunity and He urged people to seize it!
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came
into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the
gospel. Mark 1:14-15 KJV
Jesus
presented this opportunity to Nazareth when he said:
This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. Luke
4:21 KJV
They
rejected Him!
Zacchaeus recognized this
opportunity and seized it!
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked
up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for
to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and
received him joyfully. Luke 19:5-6 KJV
The malefactor on the cross recognized it and seized it!
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say
unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43 KJV
The children of Israel failed to seize the opportunity!
Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To
day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation,
in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me,
proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that
generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known
my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed,
brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing
from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day;
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made
partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto
the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your
hearts, as in the provocation. Hebrews 3:7-15 KJV
The
rich young ruler failed to seize it!
And when he was gone forth into the way, there came
one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do
that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me
good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments,
Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness,
Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him,
Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved
him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever
thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and
come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went
away grieved: for he had great possessions. Mark 10:17-22 KJV
"Your
money, or your life." We know what
to do when a burglar makes this demand of us, but not when God does. Mignon McLaughlin.
Jesus
wept over Jerusalem for failing to seize the opportunity!
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and
wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day,
the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about
thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay
thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not
leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy
visitation. Luke 19:41-44 KJV
By
this time we can see that kairos as
time, is in the present. Right now! Today! Yesterday is gone and you do not
know of tomorrow!
In the Lord of
the Rings Frodo is about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime and in the
course of a conversation with Gandalf says:
'I wish it need
not have happened in my time,' said Frodo.
'So do I,' said
Gandalf, 'and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to
decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.'
Remember
that famous scene in Trading Places where the Duke brothers screamed for the
whole thing to start over again? Mortimer
Duke: I want trading reopened right now. Get those brokers back in here! Turn
those machines back on! Turn those machines back on! while his brother Randolph
is having a heart attack on the floor. How
late it was with opportunity gone!
Waste your money
and you're only out of money, but waste your time and you've lost a part of
your life. Michael Leboeuf
Time's Paces is
a poem about the apparent speeding up of time as one gets older. It was written
by Henry Twells (1823 - 1900)
When I was a
child and laughed and wept - Time crept.
When I was a
youth I waxed more bold - Time strolled.
When I became a
full grown man - Time ran.
When older still
I daily grew - Time flew.
Soon I shall
find I’m passing on - Time gone.
We then, as workers together with him, beseech you
also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard
thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee:
behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) 2
Corinthians 6:1-2 KJV
Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will
go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is
even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For
that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to
him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:13-17
KJV
Sometimes
we can become too preoccupied with things rather than God:
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of
covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things
which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a
certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And
he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and
there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul,
Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink,
and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Luke
12:15-21 KJV
We
need to buy up the time and never let an opportunity pass by. Seize the day is
a common expression of our times!
ME YOU HAVE NOT
ALWAYS...
Then Jesus six days before the passover came to
Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.
There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them
that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard,
very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair:
and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. Then saith one of his
disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not
this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he
said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the
bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the
day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but
me ye have not always. John 12:1-8 KJV
Have
you ever noticed that people hardly find time for God or the things of God?
Many sincere people are so caught up in life's everyday activities with a great
exhibition of busy occupation. They would really like to spend more time with
God but are hard pressed to find the time. They work hard during the week
sometimes at two or more jobs which are a necessity because they have to pay
bills, make ends meet, secure the comfort of their family or maybe it's just to
get possession of that bigger house, fancier car, expensive vacation! When
weekend arrives some are busy trying to get an extra job. Many times we just
need that weekend to sleep in late because of the thoroughly harassing week of
labor. Surely God will understand we need the rest..after all that's what the
Sabbath is for!
Have
you noticed how we find time for other things such as that new movie, that
sporting event, that long overdue trip to anywhere...and the list goes on. It's
really weird that all of this happens with seemingly little effort...but with
God...we're simply too busy.
Are
you aware that it is the devil's desire to distract you from even thinking
about God much less finding time for Him? Do you know if left to yourself you
will never find time for God? Do you realize that when it comes to God it's not
about just finding time for Him but about seizing the time for Him?
If
we don’t SEIZE the time for Jesus, we'll NEVER FIND time for Him!
We
have a whole new year of 365 days. By His Mercy and Grace we may reach another
December 31! What is important is how we will relate to Him this year! We
cannot continue to ignore Him and shut Him out of our activities then expect
Him to show up with a miracle when we find ourselves up against a wall. We
cannot continue to give Him the dregs of our life and expect Him to supply us
with fresh oil daily!
There
is a period of time when you can do something particularly significant that
will be impossible at another time even though you may then have all the time
in the world. The opportunity is lost and it cannot be regained!
It
becomes pointless to say I will have more time at a later date. Your child has
grown, your season has past, and your window of opportunity has disappeared. It
will not return again! All plans for the future become null and void because
you failed to plan for the present opportunity and season.
And that, knowing the time,
that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer
than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us
therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of
light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not
in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts
thereof. Romans 13:11-14 KJV
Beatles
"Have No Future in Show Business"
The details:
Mike Smith was an executive in charge of evaluating talent for Decca Records
when he traveled to Liverpool, England, to listen to an up and coming band. He
was impressed. The band had unmistakable talent, so he brought them to Decca's
London office for an audition on New Year's Day 1962. The band played 15 songs,
went home and waited for an answer.
When they
finally heard the answer, Decca's famous reply was that, "guitar groups
are on the way out" and "the Beatles have no future in show
business". Decca did not
realize what they had so they failed to seize the moment!
